Moving Forward
by lwbsrta7119
Summary: This is take 2 of my after-Safe-House Nikki/Cameron fanfic. It's mostly true to the characters and story up through Safe House, though maybe not exactly. Also, it's mostly about Nikki and Cam, but there will be a little more than that. I hope you enjoy!
1. Confronting Kyle

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Summerland or any of the characters.

**Author's Note (General)**: Hey everybody! Oh my God it's been…a long time since I've posted anything. Here's what happened: I didn't like most of the stories I was going to post and my Summerland fic was really similar to another, so I went back and wrote entirely new ones based on the old ones. This Summerland fic is the same general idea of the other and takes place after Safe House, but I made it more my own and removed/changed some scenes that were too similar to others. Please let me know if anyone has any complaints about this one, because I can change it more, but please wait a couple chapters because the first are mainly just connecting Safe House to my story, and I know this way has been done before (and by better authors) but I just can't picture it happening any other way. Anyway, please review if you can, as any advice helps. Happy reading!

**Author's Note (Special)**: Unfortunately, it has been a long time since I've seen Summerland, so I don't remember certain things like minor character names, eye colors, minor details, etc. Also, I really don't remember the last few episodes in detail, and I forget exactly what happened with Bradin, so I'm just going to assume that he is still around like normal in this fic, as it is mainly a Nikki/Cam story. Oh, one more thing: the chapter titles aren't so much titles as helpful hints to see what happens in each chapter. I like this because I can never remember what happens when and I tend to lose my favorite parts of a story. Well, I guess that's it. Please let me know if I'm wrong about something important, and enjoy! Or tell me if it's terrible!

**Moving Forward**

Cameron Bale stared silently out the window, enjoying the calm silence of the clear California night. The slight breeze was the only comfort he had, as his mind was anything but calm. His thoughts raced and though he was desperately trying to ignore them, more questions kept coming. What would become of him now? Where would he go? Would he have to return to his father? Would he return to his mother? Where would he stay while those are answered? Could he stay with Nikki and her Aunt Ava?

It was too much; he couldn't handle the bombardment. Finally turning from the window, he dove onto Nikki's bed and shoved his head under the pillow, hoping that somehow the cool softness would help comfort his mind as well as his head. It wasn't working. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and to give in to his fatigue and let the darkness come so he would think no more, but how could he simply fall asleep after all that had happened? When there were so many questions, so many things left undone, so many thoughts racing through his mind, sleep was impossible. Rest of any kind was. This was going to be a very long night.

He glanced up at the clock and sighed. He had hours left before anyone would wake up. He rolled over, wincing as his weight shifted to his bruised shoulder. The questions started up again. He felt tears start to fall down onto the pillow as he rubbed his shoulder gently, trying and failing yet again to ignore the thoughts that simply would not stop.

Finally, unable to continue waiting alone for morning to come, he quietly inched the door open and slid silently down the steps, slipping outside into the cool night air. Somehow, he already felt better, as if just being alone outside was better than being alone in the bedroom. The dark still, the glistening starts, the soft breeze—all of these were something far more pleasant than his thoughts to focus on, and they were finally allowing him to forget the worries that were on his mind mere minutes ago.

Cameron started walking slowly, allowing his mind to wander. Where he was walking, he didn't know or care, but somehow it was helping, and that was all that mattered. Somehow, he found his way to the hammock in the back yard. He laid down on it and made a mental note not to stay too much longer; he knew he would not be able to prevent himself from falling asleep much longer, and he didn't want to spend the night in a hammock outside.

He let his mind drift again in an attempt to find some thought that could comfortably keep him awake for a little while longer. He started thinking of Nikki. God, what did she think of all of this? Could she possibly understand what it was like for him? Had she truly forgiven him for keeping it from her and for being so distant? And even more important to Cameron, what did she think of him now? For the first time ever in his life, the thought of just ending it all had crossed his mind, and he had told her! She knew, and she had immediately put an end to that thought. She had also been the first girl ever to see him cry. What could she possibly think of him after that?

"Cameron?"

Shocked back into reality, Cameron frantically looked up, though he already knew who it was.

Nikki looked back at him, her warm brown eyes showing only concern. In her hand was a small bowl filled with ice cream and a few Oreos. Cameron couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"Ice cream and Oreos?"

"You're one to talk—you eat everything!"

He smiled. "This is true."

He sat up and slid over to make room for her. "You sure we're not going to get caught?" he asked.

Nikki sat down next to him and set the bowl on her lap. "I don't think so; they're all up in their rooms sleeping." She took a bite of ice cream and Cameron grabbed an Oreo.

"So," Nikki began, looking back up at him. "What are you doing out here?"

Cameron sighed and looked up at the stars. "I don't know, I guess. I just thought being outside would be a little better than being alone in your room."

"And is it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it is. I don't know why exactly, but there's something about the air at night that's comforting when I can't seem to stop thinking."

Nikki nodded in agreement. "I know. This is the first time in my life I ever wanted to stop thinking about something, and the only way I know to do it is to grab a snack and sit out here."

Cameron looked at her questioningly. "I thought you did that when you needed to think."

She chuckled. "Or that. It just depends on what I need, but ice cream and Oreos always help."

"I suppose that's true."

"So are you holding up okay?"

Cameron looked up again. "I don't know…I don't know what to do, or to think. Right now I'm just trying to ignore it all, just to get by. You know?"

Nikki slipped her small hand into his. "I wish I did. I wish I could do more to help you, but I just…don't know what to do either, I guess."

Cameron finally looked back into her eyes. "You've already helped a lot, more than you know, I'm sure." He squeezed her hand gently. "If you hadn't told when you did, I don't know what would've happened. It might have gone on for a while, and I don't think I would have said anything. I just…I didn't want to believe that he couldn't stop, and I didn't want to think about everything that would happen if someone knew."

Cameron saw tears in Nikki's eyes, and that brought fresh ones to his. "Cameron," she said softly. "I'm so sorry this had to happen to you; you didn't deserve it." He saw a tear slide down her cheek.

"Thank you, Nikki, for everything," he whispered, almost more to himself than to her. "I just wish I knew what will happen next." He sighed and looked down at their hands.

"Well," Nikki said, reverting to her studious we-should-be-able-to-figure-this-out attitude. "Tomorrow, your dad will come looking for you and we'll have to confront him then."

"Ugh," Cameron sighed. "I'm dreading that. I just…I don't want to face him already. What will I say? What will _he _say? I just don't think I'm ready for that conversation."

"It will be fine," Nikki said, looking straight into his eyes. "Just tell him how you feel and say what your heart tells you to. I promise you, I will be right there. You won't be alone."

_I haven't been very good about that lately,_ he thought to himself as he looked at Nikki. "I know, Nik. Thank you." He pulled her into a tight hug, finally allowing his own tears to fall. He winced slightly when her fingers found the bruise on his shoulder, another reminder of all that he'd been through over the past few days. He hoped she hadn't noticed, though he felt some of her tears as well through the sleeve on his shirt.

After a few minutes, the two finally recovered and looked back into each other's eyes. "Well," Nikki said. "I suppose we should get back to bed, huh?"

Cameron nodded and stood up slowly, offering his hand. "I guess we should. But we have so much more to figure out," he said, falling back onto the hammock with his hands over his eyes.

Nikki grabbed his hand and pulled him back out of the hammock. "We don't have to worry tonight. We'll cross all those bridges as they come, okay? But I think we would be far better off after a good night's sleep."

Cameron smiled at her, chuckling slightly as he remembered the time. "I think it's a bit too late for that." He quietly held the door open.

"Than will do the best we can," she said simply, quietly walking inside.

"I suppose that's all we can do," he said as he strode in after her.

Meanwhile, Ava and Johnny stood in their upstairs bedroom watching this entire scene unfold, though they were unable to hear anything due to the distance and the window.

Johnny looked at Ava softly. "Do you think they're okay?" he asked her, unsure of what else to say.

After a moment, Ava simply shrugged. "I don't know. You saw Cam; he's so scared. I don't know what to do to help."

Johnny looked out the window again and pointed to the two teenagers in the hammock. "I think Nikki's got that covered," he said with a slight smirk.

Ava lightly elbowed him. "Johnny, I'm serious. Cameron is not alright. He was abused by his father! How is he going to get over that? We'll all have to confront him soon—probably tomorrow—and none of us are ready, especially Cameron. What can we do? And even after we sort that out, what's going to happen to him? He can't stay here and I know he never got along with his mom." She looked at Johnny, her eyes almost pleading, "What do we do?"

Johnny pulled Ava into a hug. "We'll figure it out. To be honest, I don't think we're going to have much say in how it happens. With my mom, it just sort of…all came out at once. I'm not saying it's going to be easy—far from it, in fact—but there's nothing we can do to prevent it. We'll just have to be there to help Cam through it and after that, we'll work something out. Maybe Cameron has other relatives, or maybe he can even tolerate staying with his mom. Who knows, after this they might get along better."

Ava looked up at Johnny, holding his gaze despite a few glistening tears in her eyes. "How do you do it? You always seem to know what to say."

He shook his head. "No, I've just been down this path before."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But in a way, I'm glad you have."

He smiled. "Me to."

"Johnny, do you think you could talk to Cam tomorrow if you get the chance? I think he might need your help. You're the only one who would understand what he's going through, I think."

"Yeah, sure, of course." They looked out the window again and watched as Nikki and Cameron went back inside, and Johnny remembered. "Hey Ava, where are we going to sleep? I mean, Cameron took Nikki's room and she took yours, so…"

"Well if I know Susannah, she'll be at Matt's all night, and I'll sleep in her room."

Johnny quickly did the math. "What about me?"

Ava smirked. "Couch."

* * *

Cameron awoke the next morning already dreading the day. He knew that today was going to be the day he'd have to confront his father, the day he'd have to answer all of the previous night's questions, the day he'd learn what would become of him in the very near future. He was terrified. Every thought, every question, every fear forgotten from the night before returned to him with a vengeance, and he was scared to death of what the day had in store for him.

After a shower, Cameron headed downstairs for a surprisingly awkward breakfast since neither Bradin nor Derrick had any idea why he was here. The day was already starting rough, and he knew it wasn't going to get any better. After breakfast, he pulled Nikki into the living room.

"Hey Cam," she said as the sat down on the couch. "What's up?"

Cameron looked at her seriously. "I really don't want to see him today. I'm dreading it. I—" Nikki cut him off with a nod and one finger. "Aunt Ava," she yelled. "Cam and I and going for a walk."

"Okay, but be back soon," she said as she walked in. "I'm sorry Cam, but I think it would be best if you're here if and when your dad comes." The look on her face said she knew just how much she was asking, but it also said that she wouldn't have asked if she didn't think it was really important.

Cameron nodded slowly before he grabbed Nikki's hand and the two of them walked outside.

Nikki looked up at him. "I can't even imagine what this is like for you, but I really, really think you'd be better off if you just confronted him. You have to tell him what he's doing to you, and he has to realize how much pain he's causing you. It has to be done, and we'll all be there."

Cameron couldn't hold her gaze. "I know, and I want to but…I don't know if I can." He looked down.

Nikki pulled him into a tight hug. "_I _know you can."

Cameron smiled. "Thanks, Nik. I hope you're right."

The two of them walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen, contemplating what to do for lunch.

"Okay," Nikki began as she looked around and starting figure out what their options were. "How about I make us some sandwiches and you run upstairs and grab a book for me," she suggested.

Cameron laughed. "Sounds good to me, but I just have one question. Are you always reading?"

"Just about, yes," she answered laughing.

"Alright, alright. Which one?" He asked.

"_A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,_ James Joyce."

Cameron groaned. "Oh my God, you're actually reading Joyce?! Doesn't that make you some sort of higher being?"

Nikki grinned. "I think the hype is worse than the actual book, although I don't know about _Ulysses. _I hear that one's really hard."

Cameron just shrugged. "Whatever, Nik. I still think you've lost your mind."

Cameron ran upstairs and grabbed the book for her. It was easy to find, of course, as Nikki has always kept her bookshelf alphabetized, and Cameron couldn't help but notice that she already had _Ulysses_ waiting on the shelf for the day that she would be ready to tackle it.

Half way down the stairway, Cameron saw Johnny heading his direction. He wasn't ready to see Johnny. He knew he would have to talk about his thoughts and feelings and he just wanted to enjoy a little time with Nikki before his dad comes barging in looking for him.

"Oh, Cameron!"

_Crap!_

He started to head back, stopping only when he realized how obvious it would look if he just turned around and left, so he remained standing on the bottom step for the moment.

"Oh, I was just leaving," Johnny started.

"No, no," Cameron added frantically, trying to backtrack. "I've got to go upstairs and grab something anyway."

"Oh. Look, Cam," Johnny began. "I just want to say that I know how tough this is for you…"

The conversation went on from there, and in the next minute or so Cameron learned that Johnny, too, had gone through everything he had. In that short conversation, it started to click for Cameron. He _wasn't _alone, and he certainly wasn't the first person to ever experience this. He started to see that he need to talk to his dad, otherwise things would never get better. For a moment, he pictured it: him talking to his dad and telling him everything he felt.

Then the fear hit him again. He _couldn't_ tell his dad. What would he think? Would he ever forgive him? He blurted it out to Johnny. "Yeah, but…I can't do that. I can't tell him. He'd hate me!" He heard his voice start to crack as he said it, but he didn't care. For a moment, everything had seemed better, achievable. Then everything returned and he found himself afraid yet again and unwilling to confront his father.

Johnny immediately picked up on Cameron's fear. "No, Cameron, No, he won't hate you. He will never hate you!" Johnny hugged Cameron as the tears started to fall again. Every fear and questioned returned and combined with the certainty that he would have to face his father soon, and Cameron couldn't take it. So he allowed Johnny to hug and comfort him for a moment before he returned to the kitchen with Nikki.

Nikki looked at him and frowned. "Cameron, are you okay."

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Nikki knew better than to argue. She nodded and grabbed their lunches as they headed upstairs.

"Cameron, what happened?"

"I talked to Johnny."

Nikki nodded, understanding. "Oh." She grabbed his hand and intertwined her fingers with his.

Cameron gently tightened his grip. "I'm glad we talked but, I'm still…I'm still scared," he admitted. He felt his hands start to shake, and he knew Nikki felt it, too.

"It's okay, Cam, we'll do it together. Ava and Johnny can try and convince him to get help, but it will be a lot more effective if he sees you. And stop worrying so much. We don't even know if he's coming today. He was pretty drunk last night; you said so yourself. He might not even come looking for you yet."

As if on cue, they heard a very recognizable voice shout "Cameron, come on, we're getting out of here!" from the floor beneath them.

Cameron's face dropped. "So much for that theory."

Together, the two of them raced downstairs.

They came to a halt at the bottom of the stairway, staring at Kyle Bale. Nikki caught the pained look on Cameron's face and squeezed his hand gently, unable to think of anything else to do for him.

Cameron stood on that step and watched. He heard Nikki say something, but he was only half listening. His eyes were glued to his father. He watched, remembering all the good days from years ago. He watched, remembering the far worse days from only days ago. He watched, realizing how much his father had changed over the years. And he watched, realizing how much his missed the old days and the old father he had grown to love. As he watched him start to fall apart, Cameron let go of Nikki's hand and stepped down towards his father.

"Dad!"

Kyle looked up, into his son's pained eyes.

"I need you to do this," he started, unsure of exactly what to say. "We both need you to do it." He paused for a moment, gathering his strength to say one final thing. "I want my dad back."

In that moment, both father and son alike broke down, losing all control. Nikki, Ava, and Johnny could only watch as the two of them hugged each other, cried and finally confessed everything that had been going through their heads for the past few months. After so long, after everything that had happened, they could finally understand. And now they could finally start to move forward.


	2. The Past Revealed

Unable to speak and his thoughts a blur, Cameron bolted upstairs after the incident with his father and without making eye contact with anybody, ran into Nikki's room and shut the door behind him. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything but shake and try to pull himself together. He didn't want anyone—especially Nikki—to see him in this state. He had run upstairs to try and hide from everything and everyone, to get away for one moment, to try and clear his head and get everything back under control.

He sat down on Nikki's bed with his head in his hands, just trying to make sense of what had happened. He had told his father everything and he knew he was going to get help. It was over. The shouting, the swearing, the hitting—it was all over. He didn't have to fear his own home anymore. He was going to get his father back, and his mind started to flood with emotions all over again.

"Cameron, it's me," came after a knock on the door. Cameron looked up, not saying anything yet for fear his voice wouldn't work. The door opened as if Nikki knew what he had been thinking. She quietly shut the door behind him and sat down next to him on the bed.

"Are you okay, Cam?" she asked quietly, unable to think of anything else to say.

He didn't move, but after a moment he said softly, "I don't know. In a way, I'm glad it's over, but…what's going to happen to me now?"

Nikki nodded in understanding. "Well, Johnny is going to drive your dad to Santa Palma Recovery Center, and Aunt Ava said she would go get some of your things if you didn't want to go back to the house. After that, I don't know. I guess you'll probably have to stay with your mom."

Cameron nodded slowly, disappointed slightly. Although he hadn't expected anything else, he didn't want to see his mom yet.

Nikki seemed to read his mind. "Why are you so nervous about seeing your mom? You've stayed with her before."

Cameron shrugged. "I guess I know she'll want to know why I didn't tell her. Then she'll cry and blame herself and I don't really want to deal with that now. We never really got along before. She has a habit of blaming Dad for everything anyway, and now she actually has a reason. She'll probably never want me to see him again, and I'm not sure I want that. I can never talk to her the same way I could my dad, and I don't think that's going to change now that she hates him even more."

Nikki wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Cam. I know you don't get along well with her now, but maybe that will change if you start living with her, and you're always welcome here when you need to get away."

Cameron turned his head to face Nikki. "But I'll be so much farther from you," he said, instantly smacking himself mentally for blurting that out.

Nikki smiled. "We both have bikes and we both have people who are willing to give us a lift when we want to see each other. Even walking, it isn't _that_ far. Plus, school is starting up soon and we'll see each other everyday. See? It'll all work out."

Cameron returned her smile. "How do you know exactly what to say all the time?"

Nikki chuckled. "I guess I just say what's in my heart, like you did today. It works every time."

"I guess it does," he said thoughtfully.

"And for the record, I'm really proud of you, Cam. I can't even imagine how hard that was for you, but you did it and I'm proud of you."

Cameron looked into her beautiful, soft brown eyes. "Thanks, Nik." For the first time in what seemed like forever, they leaned in and kissed. Cameron had almost forgotten how good that felt. It was the perfect moment, the perfect amount of time and passion without overdoing it. Cameron looked into Nikki's eyes again, feeling a little something extra this time than he had when they'd kissed before.

Nikki fumbled for words. "Well, I suppose…I better go talk to Aunt Ava," she managed to get out.

Cameron smiled, enjoying the moment as long as he could. "Yeah…"

Nikki frowned. "You look tired."

He nodded. "I haven't been sleeping well for a while."

Nikki nodded, knowing it had been even longer than she thought. "Well, I am going to go downstairs and you should stay up here and get some rest, okay."

Cameron nodded and pulled her into one last hug before she left. "Yeah, okay. I'll do that."

She let go of him and headed downstairs, shutting the door quietly behind her.

When she got downstairs, she headed outside and sat down on the hammock, remembering the night before. Before long, Ava came outside and sat down next to her, wrapping her arm around her as she did so.

"How are you holding up?" she asked softly.

"I'm fine; it's Cam I'm worried about," she said truthfully.

Ava nodded. "Yeah, me too. How's he taking it?"

Nikki shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. He's sleeping now, trying to get some rest after days of…well, he needs the rest. Some time to lie down and clear his head will do some good, but I can tell he's a little scared. He's nervous about staying with his mom and moving farther away from us." She didn't mention that he was concerned about being farther away from her specifically—she hoped that would be a conversation for another day.

Ava squeezed Nikki's should gently, offering some comfort. "I know, but he isn't going to be able to go to his mother's until tomorrow, so you have all day to try and help him. Hey, do you want to come with me to get some of Cameron's things? I could use the help, and I don't think Cameron is ready for it."

Nikki nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. I'll go with you." The idea of seeing Cameron's house and bedroom was slightly appealing to her, too. She was curious to see with her own eyes what it was like for him living there.

Five minutes later, the two of them pulled into the driveway, walked up to the front door, and opened it slowly. Nikki almost gasped out loud as she looked around the living room.

It was worse than she'd imagined.

"Oh…" she heard Ava mutter. Nikki started walking slowly around the house; it was a complete disaster. There were amber beer bottles everywhere, dirty laundry lying on the floor, dirt and grime on most the walls, unwashed dishes in the sink, and broken tables and picture frames littered the floor. How long had this gone on?!

"Nikki? I'm uh…I'm going to clean up a bit, okay? Do you think you could go grab some things from Cam's room while I try to put this place back together a little?"

Nikki nodded silently. She slowly walked over to his bedroom door and braced herself for what she might find on the other side. It was nothing like what she expected.

Cameron's room was completely unlike any other in the house: clean. Meticulously clean. That wasn't the Cameron she knew; she had seen him messy and unorganized like every other teenage boy in the world. His locker and backpack were as about as organized as dumpsters, yet his room was untouched. She could only assume that he needed somewhere to be alone and to escape from the chaos of the rest of the house. His room was all he had, and he took pride in it, clearly. It was his safe haven, his own little world apart from the chaos and pain he found elsewhere in the house. Nikki wasn't sure whether that made her happy or sad, but she was glad she knew it now.

As quickly as she could, Nikki grabbed a duffle and started folding some clothes to put in it. With that done, she grabbed began looking around for anything else he might want. She started looking at the details in the room: the MP3 in the trash, the broken computer on the desk, the slight dampness of the pillow suggesting to her that he had cried into it—all of these compiled to help her understand the life Cameron had been living, and it saddened her. How could he possibly have gone so long without telling anyone? She could only thank God that the damage Kyle had caused to the computer and MP3 hadn't been done to Cameron. Or had it? How bad was it here, and how bad did Kyle treat him? Nikki made a mental note to ask Cameron later.

Nikki grabbed a few more things for Cameron and then, with one final look around, walked out of his room. She walked over to her aunt.

"You ready to go, Nik?" she asked as she tied up the last garbage bag.

Nikki nodded. "Yeah, I think I got everything if you can help carry some of it.

"Sure," Ava said, grabbing the larger of the two duffel bags. The two of them tossed the bags into the car and pulled out of the driveway to head home.

"Hey, Aunt Ava?" Nikki asked cautiously.

"Yes, Nikki? What's wrong?" Ava looked concerned.

"How bad do you think it was there, for Cam? I mean, his computer and MP3 were pretty much destroyed and well…"

Ava shook her head. "I don't know, Nik, but I hope Cameron's all right. I think after his dad gets help and he starts to adjust to life with his mom, he'll start to go back to his normal self. But for now…I don't know, Nikki. I'm sure these last few months have been really hard for Cam, but that's all I know for sure."

Nikki only nodded silently as she opened the car door and headed into the house. As soon as she got inside, she headed upstairs to her room. She quietly opened the door, expecting to find Cam peacefully sleeping. Instead she found him just on the other side of the door.

"Hey, I thought I told you to get some sleep!"

Cameron laughed. "I have been; I just got up to greet you when I heard you pull in."

Nikki laughed, embarrassed. "Oh. Sorry, but I just assumed—"

"You always assume the worst of me, Westerly. Don't you know me better than that?"

Nikki raised an eyebrow. "No."

Cameron shrugged. "Oh. Anyway, thanks for bring my stuff for me. I'm glad I didn't have to go back yet. I don't think I'm ready to see that place again."

Nikki nodded. "Aunt Ava cleaned it up a bit so you don't have to go back to a total disaster."

Cameron face turned slightly pink at the comment. "Oh, that's so nice of her. I'll have to thank her, and I'm sorry you had to see it like that. It wasn't always so…"

Nikki cut him off and shut the door quietly behind her so they could speak a little more privately. "Cameron, how bad was it there?"

Cameron's face fell and he sat down on the bed, looking up at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Cam. I saw the trash, the computer, the MP3—how bad did your father treat you? How long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Cameron looked down, looking like he wasn't quite ready for this conversation, but she had to know. She couldn't let him bottle it all up and keep it hidden from the world forever, and she wanted to help him. The best way to do that was to try and understand what it was like for him and to try and get him to talk. He'd been bottling everything up for months, she knew, and he was better off with someone he could talk to. She wanted to be that someone.

"It wasn't always like this," he started slowly. "We used to get along fine. We'd go fishing together, bike riding, you name it. Then sometime about last year, he started to get really stressed about his job and money. It was all he talked about; it was like he couldn't force himself to think about anything else. Then…I guess it was my fault in a way."

"Don't say that, Cam. It's not true."

Cameron swallowed and looked into her eyes seriously. "Well, I started avoiding him. I didn't want to listen to him complain and worry all the time. I figured having some time to himself to relax and watch TV and clear his head would do some good. But instead, he just started drinking. Not a lot, at first, but it got worse. He started not doing anything but sitting around drinking, drowning his problems in beer and bourbon. Then, I started coming home later and later, staying out longer trying to avoid coming home to him. I figured if he was out when I got home, I'd be fine. But then, I got home once when he was awake. He started shouting, furious at me. He started accusing me of things I didn't even do, and then he blamed everything on me. He said his job, the divorce, our finances—they were all my fault! That was the first time he…hit me. After that, it all went downhill."

Nikki looked up at Cameron, hearing his voice start to crack. There were tears glistening in his eyes and his hands were starting to shake. She took one of his hands in hers and started tracing circles on the skin while he continued talking.

"I guess it just all happened so fast. In no time at all, it became almost a regular thing. I would come home, he'd get mad at some random thing, we'd argue, I'd lose, and then he'd apologize. In a way, the apologies were almost the worst part. Every night we went through this, he would come in and try to convince me that it was the last time this would happen, that he was sorry, that he would get help and never hurt me again. I believed him at first, but then it just kept happening. I knew it was never true, yet I had to listen every time, each time hoping—praying, even—that he was telling the truth this time. He never was. I guess that's why I didn't tell you: I was always hoping that it would just end. But it never did, and never would have if not for you."

At this point, the two were hugging and tears were falling again. At first, Cameron had tried to keep it under control, but crying together seemed almost normal for them lately. He'd given up and let them fall, hugging Nikki tightly for support, knowing she was the only one giving him the strength to keep talking. He grimaced as Nikki's fingers found the tender spot on his shoulder again.

Nikki knew immediately and pulled away to looked at Cameron. "Cameron," she said, breathing slowly. "Let me see. Let me see just what he's been doing."

Cameron looked down. "Nikki, I don't know. I—"

"Please, Cam? Just let me see?"

After a moment, Cameron nodded and stood up, slipping his shirt off and turning to face the wall. At first, Nikki was hesitant as he removed his shirt, but seeing the bruises on his back made her forget everything. There were quite a few, and not all had been made at the same time. She gently brushed her fingers against one, and then slid them up to his shoulder which displayed a large, dark purple bruise.

"Oh my God, Cam, why didn't you tell me?"

He turned around and she pulled him into a hug, though she was careful this time to avoid all the bruises. She couldn't believe how bad it was. He had been suffering there for a long time; that much was clear. Still, she was impressed in a way that he had successfully kept it hidden from her for so long. She was more observant than most, and he had fooled her. He was a tough kid, she'd give him that. It just upset her that he had to go through this, and he felt like he needed to hide it from her.

Cameron quickly slid his shirt back on, covering the bruises once again. He looked at Nikki, at her soft hair, at her beautiful brown eyes, and he found himself leaning in towards her again. The two of them enjoyed a long and passionate kiss, loving the feeling of the other so close, and blissfully unaware of Susannah silently opening the door a crack and watching the young couple kiss.

**Author's Note**: What do you think? Any good so far? Thanks for reading!


	3. Nikki and Cameron Talk

Susannah stood, as still and silent as a statue, watching the scene unfold before her. She watched the young couple kiss—quite passionately, too—for a few moments before shutting the door and hurrying downstairs, making certain before doing so that her presence had gone unnoticed by the two of them.

Upon entering the kitchen, Susannah saw Ava and paused. Should she tell her? Ava is usually the one to freak to over this type of thing, Susannah knew, the memory of the first time Ava saw Nikki and Cam together flashing through her mind. On the other hand, however, Ava was Nikki's legal guardian and had a right to know what had happened. She tapped on Ava's shoulder, causing Ava to turn around.

"Oh hey, Susannah."

Susannah cut straight to the point. "Okay, we need to talk. It seems we have a little situation, but you need to promise me you won't freak out," she added quickly.

Ava laughed a little. "Okay, Susannah, what is it?"

"You know Nikki and Cam are together upstairs, right?"

Ava nodded. "Well, yeah. I know I wouldn't normally let them, but considering everything that's just happened and what Cam's been through these past few days, I thought—"

Susannah cut her off. "Maybe you should go back to your original plan of not letting them."

Ava chuckled again. "Why, Susannah? What have they done that has you so worried?"

Susannah pulled a couple of chairs over and the two sat down. "Well…I just saw them kissing upstairs," she began.

It was all Ava could do to keep from bursting out in laughter. "What? That's your big concern and you say _I_ freak out?! Susannah, they're teenagers; they'll kiss."

Susannah continued. "I know that. The kiss isn't what concerns me—though that was one hell of a kiss they shared—it's what happens next. I remember being that age, and let me tell you: if I had a boy like Cameron alone in my room, I—"

"Susannah, calm down. I'll tell them to leave the door open again and worry about it if and when things start to get more serious. Susannah, I hear you and I agree, but I am not going to get completely paranoid after one kiss, especially at a time like this. If we have to, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

With that last sentence, everything started to click for Susannah. She gave Ava a look before responding. "Okay, spill. What's the real reason you're being so understanding?" She knew better than to believe Ava genuinely wasn't worried.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a slight, almost nervous chuckle.

"Ava, I know you, and you would normally never allow them to be alone upstairs. You would normally be worried about all the time they're spending together. You would normally do everything in your power to avoid discussing that particular subject with Nikki. What changed? Now you're saying, 'they're teenagers' and 'they'll kiss.' I know you better than that, Ava, so please tell me what you know that I don't." Susannah was adamant. She was certain there was something else going on here, and she wanted to know what it was.

Ava sighed and took a sip of her drink. "Okay, okay, Susannah, here's what happened," she began. "When Nikki came to tell me that Cameron…needed help, she told me something else. You remember me telling you about that?" After Susannah nodded, she continued. "Well, what I didn't tell you was that Nikki told me…well, I suppose we already knew, but…she told me…"

"Out with it," Susannah almost spat, urging her to continue.

Ava took a deep breath. "She told me she loved him. She said she loved Cameron and, quite frankly, I believe her. I know, they're both really young to be saying that, but you've seen them together. They look at each other like Nikki's parents use to look at each other, like you and Matt, like—"

"You and Johnny?"

Ava gasped. "Susannah! No…well, I don't know…maybe…I mean…that's not the point. The point is that I think she may actually love him. You should have seen the look on her face, the worry in her eyes. It was really sweet."

Susannah just nodded. "Trust me, I believe they love each other, too, but that's part of my concern. What happens when they tell each other? What happens when they realize it and they start to get even closer?"

Ava shrugged. "I guess I just feel a little more comfortable in a way just knowing how seriously they feel. I don't think they'll do anything to hurt each other and I trust both of them."

Susannah didn't know what else to say. Maybe Ava was right and they would have to cross this bridge when they get there. "I guess, but just keep on eye on them."

"I will," she said, nodding. "Now, I am going to go tell Cam that he's going to head over to his mom's after dinner this evening."

"Okay, just knock before you enter. Seriously, how many times have we told them to leave the door open?"

As Ava approached the door, she had to admit that curiosity was getting to her. She looked at the door in front of her, debating whether or not to open it. Carefully, she pressed her ear against the door instead, listening to the conversation on the other side.

_"I can't believe you never told me, Cam. Some of those bruises look like they really hurt. How have you kept this from us for so long?"_

_ "After a while, I guess I just got used to it. I tried to hide it and I tried to act like everything was fine, and I got good at it after a while. There are tricks for covering them and keeping people from noticing. There were some, though, that were…more difficult to deal with."_

_ "Will…these will all heal, right? I mean, they're still only bruises, right? Do you need to see a doctor?"_

_ "I don't think so, Nikki. I'm pretty sure these will be fine in a few days. I'm just hoping Mom won't want to see."_

_ "I know Cam. I really hope everything works out. I hope you and your mom will start to get along."_

_ "Me too, Nik, but even if it does, it's going to be awkward at first. There's nothing I can do about that."_

_ "You can try. Just try to give her a chance. Talk to her about how you feel and tell her what's on your mind. If she starts to say something that bothers you, tell her. And like I said, if it gets completely unbearable, you are always welcome here. Don't ever forget that. And you can call or text me. I won't even care what time it is; if you need someone to talk to, I promise I'll only be a phone call away."_

_ "Thanks, Nik. I'm…I'm really glad you're here, going through this with me. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been here."_

At this point, Ava heard only silence and she knocked on the door after a moment. "Cam," she said opening the door a crack. She smiled as she saw the two of them hugging and sitting on the bed. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but this will only take a second. Cameron, your mom is going to come pick you up after dinner this evening, okay?"

Cameron nodded, though there was still a frown on his face and his eyes showed only sadness and a little fear. "Can we eat late?"

Ava smiled sadly, genuinely wishing for a moment that Cameron didn't have to return to his mom. She knew it would be really hard for him and she was willing to do almost anything that would make it a little easier. "I'll see what I can do, Cam. Sorry guys," she said as she shut the door again. Then it hit her: she wanted them to leave the door open. Quickly she turned around and opened it again. "Oh Nikki, leave the door open a little bit, okay?" she added quickly. They nodded quietly, a slight smile appearing on both of their faces. Ava thanked them and headed downstairs to make dinner.

Cameron looked at Nikki for a moment, admiring her smile. "So, what should we do before dinner? We have plenty of time, hopefully."

Nikki shrugged. "We could go to the beach, but..." she trailed off,

He shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure…you know…plus, Bradin's there and I don't know…"

"It's okay, Cam, I get it. Well, I suppose we could go for a walk to start with."

Cameron nodded, standing up. "Great idea. Let's go," he said, and the two of them headed downstairs. Nikki called out to Ava as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Cameron heard Ava say something about dinner being in a few hours. It occurred to him that he hadn't eaten lunch today and he wondered where the time went. How could he not have even noticed that? It seemed to him that time just flew by whenever he spent it with Nikki.

As they walked outside, Nikki started talking. "So, why exactly did you never get along with your mom? How did it all start?"

Cameron sighed and slid his hand into Nikki's. "I guess I was never as close with her as I was with my dad. Dad and I would go for bike rides, go fishing, just fun stuff like that all the time, before he…well, Mom never did any of that, ever. She was never interested in my life, or school, or anything. So, when she and Dad split up, I always preferred staying with him. Going to stay with Mom was more of a chore, something I had to do just to get it over with."

Nikki nodded, and Cameron was reminded again of how much he loved having someone to tell all of these things. She was the only person willing to listen to him right now, and he didn't know if he would ever have been able to find the strength to go through everything without that. Without _her._

"Even when she started to get better and started trying harder, I didn't want to see her as often. I guess I didn't trust her, didn't believe that she would ever actually start to change. So then Dad started drinking and I didn't want to go there because I was afraid she'd ask about Dad or she'd start to figure it out. So, that's how it happened in a nutshell. I'm hoping you're right, and we'll start to get along better now, but I just don't want her to start asking a ton of questions and start going off about what a horrible father he was for doing this and what a horrible mother she is for not noticing, and then we'll start the long conversation about everything that led up to it…I just don't want to go there and I know I'm going to have to." He felt Nikki squeeze his hand.

"It'll be fine, Cam. It sounds to me like she's trying harder now than she ever has. Maybe you should try harder, too."

Cam smiled and nodded, knowing she was right. "Well, I think that's about enough of this talk. What's Amber been up to? Still her normal, crazy, boy-obsessed self?"

Nikki nodded, laughing. "Yeah, it looks that way. She was kind of worried about you, you know."

Now it was Cameron's turn to laugh. "Really? Why, because she was upset that I wasn't at work?"

Nikki laughed again. "Actually, I'm fairly certain that was exactly the case."

"Well, she's going to have to get used to it, because I'm not going to be working there anymore. I kind of…got fired, for missing all that work. Personally, I'm fine with it—especially since I know Amber gets to suffer even more now—but it means I have to try and find another job. I'm hoping it won't be even worse."

"Cam!" Nikki said, shoving him gently. "Amber is going to kill you, now. You realize that, don't you?"

Cameron shrugged. "She won't have the time; she's stuck at Tiki Squeeze all day working." They both laughed at that.

When they settled down, Nikki looked up at Cam and smiled at him. "How long has it been since we just talked about something completely random and just laughed?"

"Too long, Nik. Much too long."

"I have an idea," Nikki said, looking mischievously at Cameron. "Let's go home, find the dumbest movie we can on TV, and play the dumbest game we can find in the house."

"Well, it can't be Monopoly, of course, because you don't have a chance."

"Cam! Oh, just for that, we have to play and I'll kick your butt just like I did last time."

"You wish!"

And with that, the young couple rushed home, fingers intertwined the entire time.

When they got home, they raced each other to Nikki's room, almost running over Derrick on the way. Cameron ended up winning the race because Nikki stopped to apologize, but she claimed, of course, that it didn't count.

"Anyway," Cameron said, dropping down onto the bed. "Where do you keep the Monopoly board?"

Nikki gestured towards Derrick's room. "I'll get it. See, that is why I apologized; he'd never let us take it from his room if he was mad at us."

Cameron groaned. "All right, all right. Point taken."

Moments later, Nikki returned and the two dealt out the money and started playing. After what felt like only minutes later, there was absolutely no hope for Cameron. Nikki owned over half the board and had used all of the houses on her own property, thus keeping Cameron from using any to build up on his. To top it off, she was mysteriously avoiding every one of his railroads and utilities. His play seemed to be failing. Nikki, meanwhile, was absolutely laughing her head off.

"Unbelievable!" Cameron said, absolutely incredulous. "Out of every spot on here, I had to land on luxury tax again! That spot has cost me so much money—"

"It could be worse Cam. I have four houses on Boardwalk and Park Place around it."

"I know, but it's just the principle of the thing. How can I possibly land there so often, and I always land on all of your other properties, too, so don't complain about me missing Boardwalk."

No sooner had he said that than the dice he rolled hit a nine and he slid his piece down to the chance card spot. As expected, the card said, "Advance to Boardwalk Avenue."

"Unbelievable!"

Nikki burst out laughing. "Come on, Cam, you can't win this game with only railroads and utilities!"

"If you didn't miss every single one of them every single time, I might be able to."

Nikki found she couldn't stop laughing. "Sorry, Cam."

Cameron found that he didn't want Nikki to stop laughing. He loved the sound of it. "You know what, just for being so merciless, I'm going to…" He inched forward slowly.

Nikki chuckled, looking slightly nervous. "What? What are you doing?"

Without warning, Cameron started tickling Nikki, deliberately being as merciless with her as she was with him. She shouted, laughing, "Come on, Cam, stop. STOP!"

"You put me through just as much torture playing Monopoly. You can suffer just a little bit longer."

"Cam!"

At that moment, Cameron started to hear footsteps coming up the steps. He stopped, and Nikki stopped laughing. "What's wrong, Cam?"

"Someone's coming. Quick, get up."

In a matter of seconds, the two had the board back in order Nikki had the dice in her hand ready to roll. Just then, Ava knocked on the door gently and walked in, almost laughing at the sight. She could tell they hadn't just been playing Monopoly the whole time—Nikki's hair was never so disorderly and Cam was clearly losing, so he wouldn't be so happy—but she decided to let that one slide by and pretend not to notice. "Guys, dinner's going to be ready in about an hour, okay?"

Cameron looked shocked. "What, what time is it?"

"A little after six."

Cameron looked at Nikki. "Oh my God, where does the time go?"

She shrugged. "It just vanishes, like all your money."

"Oh you are going to pay for that one, Westerly."

Ava laughed and the young couple. "Okay, I'll leave. Just be ready for dinner around seven, and your mother will pick you up around 8:30, Cam. That okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he answered, still facing Nikki. "That'll be fine, I guess." He turned to look at Ava. "Thank you, for everything. For dinner, for cleaning up our house, everything."

Ava smiled sweetly. "Oh, you're welcome, Cam, don't mention it. It was no trouble at all." She headed downstairs to the kitchen, leaving the door open a little as she left.

Cameron and Nikki just looked at each other and started laughing all over again. "How on earth did she not say anything?" Nikki said as she laughed. "She totally knew something was up."

Cameron couldn't stop laughing either. "I know, I know. Did you see the look on her face when she came in? Then she didn't say anything? We got so lucky!"

Nikki nodded. "We sure did."

As they laughed the two of them managed to clean up the board and work there way over to the bed. Cameron laid down and Nikki rested her head on his chest gently. Cameron started twirling her hair slightly with his finger. After what seemed like forever, Nikki spoke.

"I wish we could stay like this a little longer."

Cameron nodded. "Me too. For the first time in my life, I'm hungry but I still feel like it's a shame that we have to go downstairs and eat."

"I know, and after that you're leaving."

"I'll be back, Nik. Tomorrow, hopefully, and if not, the next day."

"I know, but I'll miss you."

"For one day? Maybe two?"

"Is that bad?"

Cameron shook his head. "I'll miss you too, Nik. That's why I'll be back as soon as I can."

Nikki smiled and stood up, stretching. "That's good. Well, I suppose we should head downstairs and get ready for dinner."

Cameron grunted. Nikki had come to understand that this was Cam's tired-lazy-comfortable language for "Do we have to?"

"Yes, Cam, we have to, unfortunately. Come on. You can even sit next to me if you want."

Cameron got up off the bed, finally. "I'd rather sit across from you so I can see those pretty eyes of yours."

Nikki raised her eyebrows. "You know, you're more romantic when you're tired and lazy."

Cameron smiled. "That's not it; it's only when you lay on top of me for almost an hour."

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that and you playing with my hair the whole time."

Cameron face pinked slightly at the comment. "Come on, Nik, let's go.

Sure enough, when they got downstairs everyone was just starting to sit at the table and put some food on their plates. For the next hour, the entire family just ate, talked, and enjoyed themselves, not worrying about anything at all outside of what they wanted to eat or talk about next. It seemed to Cameron like this had been the first day in quite some time that he was able to enjoy so much. He hoped that it wouldn't be ruined by his return to his mother's.

As if sensing his thoughts, Nikki immediately smiled at Cameron and shoved some more food on his plate. "Eat up, Cam. There's plenty of food." Cameron smiled, knowing that was Nikki-language for "Stop worrying so much and eat, because that always makes you feel better." He knew it was true. So he did just that.

**Author's Note:** Glad some people out there seem to like it. Again, please let me know if you think I should change something. Constructive criticism is always helpful. By the way, I think the next few chapters are going to get a little darker and will have a little more plot action, but Cam and Nikki's relationship will continue to develop throughout it and I'll get to some more fluffy stuff soon. Thanks for reading!


	4. Cameron's Mother

Nikki and Cameron stood on the front porch, waiting for his mom to arrive. Cameron was pacing back and forth quietly, his eyes on the ground. Nikki was leaning against the house looking up at the stars. Neither one knew exactly what to say, but somehow the silence was comforting.

Cameron stopped pacing and looked at Nikki. He couldn't help but notice how good she looked at that moment. There was something about her face, her eyes, her hair gently blowing in the breeze. Even her outfit—which he normally didn't care about as much—was just right. She always dressed just girly enough without looking like she was trying to be a member of the ultra-popular crowd. Perfect. Nikki finally looked down, noticing his smile.

"How long have you been staring?" she asked with a slight smirk on her face.

Cameron blushed. "Not long enough, Nik. Thanks a lot."

"I never asked you to stop."

They looked at each other, surprised by the words that had just escaped Nikki's mouth. She blushed immediately and looked back up to the stars, as if trying to avoid the inevitable awkward moment following such a comment. Cameron went along with it and started pacing again. Both of them started to find the silence surprising comfortable again. It was the first time in a while. Normally, they either needed to talk about something important or deliberately chose to talk about something fun and distracting. Every moment of silence in the past few days had been a tense one, so this definitely felt like a move in the right direction.

Finally, and unfortunately, two headlights found their way to the house and flooded the driveway with their annoyingly bright beams. Cameron and Nikki looked up to greet Ms. Bale as she got out of the car and headed towards the front door.

"Mom." Cameron didn't really know what else to say. Wordlessly, he greeted his mom with a brief hug and turned to Nikki. "Nikki, this is my mom. Mom, this is Nikki."

A smile quickly appeared on Ms. Bale's face. "Oh Nikki, it's so nice to finally meet you. The last few times I've spoken to Cam, you're pretty much all he talks about. It's nice to actually see the girl my son's been so crazy about for the last few months."

Cam felt his face heat up and found himself incredibly glad that it was getting darker, hoping that would keep Nikki from noticing. He looked up and saw her smiling. Fortunately, his mom was being extremely polite and respectful, so he didn't have to worry about that. Now he only feared that she would embarrass him more.

"Mom, we should go. It's getting late."

With a wave of her hand, she continued. "Oh, it's summer, Cam. We're not on the clock."

Nikki chuckled and, as if answering Cameron's prayers, spoke up. "Oh, that's okay Ms. Bale. I should be getting back inside anyway to help Aunt Ava get the house back in order before bed. We'll have to chat again soon." She turned to face Cameron. "Bye, Cam. Call me tomorrow, okay."

Cameron bent down to give her one last hug. "Definitely. Thanks again, Nik."

He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, and with that he headed off toward the car, smiling at Nikki the entire time.

Ms. Bale turned to Nikki for a moment before following him. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Nikki. We will have to talk again sometime. Oh, I have an idea. Why don't you come over for dinner? This week is a little hectic, but how about next week sometime? Maybe Wednesday? It would be fun, and I know Cam would be fine with it."

Nikki held in another chuckle. "Thank you, that sounds great! It's so nice of you to invite me. Well, I really should be heading back inside. Thanks again, and drive safely," she added as she opened the door.

Ms. Bale waved as she got back in the car. "Thank you, we will. Bye, Nikki." As she shut the door, she quickly started turning the car back on and carefully pulled out of the driveway. "So how are you, Cam?" she asked as they turned onto the main road.

Cameron shrugged. "Fine." He didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to start their long conversation in the car, but he knew they wouldn't pass it in total awkward silence either.

Ms. Bale sighed. "I'm so sorry, Cam. I know this has been hard on you." She paused for a moment before deciding to change the topic. "You seem to really like Nikki."

"Yeah…"

She smiled. "She's helping you get through this?" she asked quietly.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, she really is. I…I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for her, to be honest."

"I know. I heard she was the first one you told."

He nodded again. "Yeah. She's…she's the only one I always feel like I can trust. No matter what, she always listens to me, always says the right thing, always does exactly what needs to be done. I don't know how she does it, but I'm really glad she does." He couldn't help but smile as he said this.

Ms. Bale nodded again, starting to understand just how deeply her son felt about this girl. "That's good. I'm glad you have such a good friend to help you."

Cameron nodded, and the two of them finished the remainder of the ride in blissful silence. At last, they pulled the car into their own driveway. Cameron pulled his bag out of the car and quickly started setting up his room here. It was mostly done already, but he needed to add his clothes to the dresser and closet, as well as a few other things he'd normally kept at his dad's house. This house was going to be his permanent home for a while, he knew. After Cameron finished with his room, he walked down the hall, tapping on his mom's bedroom door.

"Come in, Cam."

He opened the door a little and looked at his mom. "Hey, Mom, I'm…I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to go to bed, okay."

Ms. Bale smiled sadly. "Sure, Cam. Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

Cameron just nodded, muttered a "goodnight" and headed into his room. He lied awake, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about anything. After what felt like forever, pure fatigue finally forced him to drift off in the early hours of the morning.

Much to Cameron's dismay, the following morning came far too quickly. After procrastinating for as long as he knew he could get away with, Cameron crawled out of bed and slowly began the seemingly overwhelming task of getting ready for the day. After grabbing a quick shower, he got dressed and headed into the living room slowly, terrified that the moment he had been stressing about for so long was coming.

Sure enough, his mom was sitting on the couch. There was no TV on, no magazines on the coffee table, no book in her hands—she wanted to talk. There was no other explanation, and that thought made him nervous.

Tentatively, he inched his way toward the chair next to the couch and, slowly, he sat down. He looked at his mom, knowing the conversation from hell was about to begin.

Sure enough, it did.

"How did this happen, Cam?" she began quietly. She didn't seem upset, as he had expected her to be, but she seemed concerned, even lost. To Cameron, she looked like a mother who genuinely feared for her child and was saddened by the fact that she'd had no idea what had been going on for months. He found that he was comforted by that, and he instantly started trusting her more than he had before, but that didn't make this much easier for him. "When did it start?" she added, seeming to realize that Cameron had no idea where to begin.

"Almost a year ago. Maybe not quite that long, but—"

"Oh my God, Cam, why didn't you tell me?"

Cameron shook his head. "I don't know. I guess I just…I just hoped it would stop eventually, but...I guess it never did." He watched as his mother's eyes started to tear up.

"How did it start?"

Taking a deep breath, Cameron recounted the story he had told Nikki. He talked about how he started avoiding his father, how the physical abuse started, how he had to endure apologies every time. He told her all of it. His mom had started to cry near the end, but he managed to stay strong. He had cried so often these last few days, but now he seemed to be unable to. As strange as it sounds, he'd almost adjusted to the feeling of talking about it all. He was no longer letting everything out with each word, but simply retelling a story he'd told before. It was a little easier this time because of that. But then the sentence he had never wanted to hear again came.

"Let me see, Cam."

Cameron instinctively backed away a little. "What?"

"Let me see, Cam," she said again, more assertively this time. "I need to know what he put you through. I just…I need to know what he did."

Cameron sighed and took another deep breath, when Nikki's words came back to him. "Okay, before I do, promise me one thing."

She nodded. "Of course, Cam, anything."

"Promise me you won't go off about how horrible Dad is and how much you hate him. I know he's made some mistakes, but he's still my dad. I don't know if I can…I don't want to have the discussion yet about everything he's done wrong and all of the problems he's caused and how I should have come to live with you. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Promise me you won't start with that yet?"

She paused for a moment, at first looking shocked at what he was saying, but then looking like she understood. Regardless of how _she _felt, Kyle was still _his_ dad, and he didn't want to hear her say how much she hated him and what a horrible job he'd done as a father. He wasn't sure he could handle that. Finally, she nodded, and Cameron once again removed his shirt, revealing the bruises that he hid beneath.

His mother gasped slightly at the sight. Without saying anything, she pulled him into a tight hug. He winced.

"Ahhh, Mom, watch out."

She pulled back and looked at the dark bruise on his chest that her hand had been over. "Did that hurt?"

Reluctantly, Cameron nodded. "A little, but I'm sure it will be fine in a couple of days."

His mother didn't move. Carefully, she put her hand on his bruised shoulder and squeezed. He winced again.

"That hurt, too?"

He didn't say anything.

"Cam, I think we should go to a doctor."

Cameron sighed. "Oh, come on, Mom, it'll be fine. It's just—"

She shook her head and grabbed her keys off the counter. "No, Cameron, it's not. I know it looks like just a bruise, but if it hurt you to hug me, I think we should see a doctor."

Cameron had a feeling that she might be right, but he still didn't want to go. Then a thought occurred to him. "Can Nikki come, at least?"

Ms. Bale put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Instantly, Cameron felt a little bit better. "Thanks! I'm going to give her a quick call," he said, grabbing his phone.

"On the way," Ms. Bale said as she grabbed her purse. "We should get going; you know how long we have to wait these days!"

Cameron rolled his eyes and started dialing as they got in the car. She answered before the second ring, like always. "Nikki?"

"Hey, Cam. What's up?"

"Um, well my mom thinks it might be a good idea to let a doctor see…"

Nikki cut him off, clearly understanding perfectly. "I was thinking about that last night; I think it's a good idea, Cam. I'm glad you're going."

"Would you go with me?"

"Sure, Cam. Of course. Are you on your way now?"

"Yeah. We should be there in a few minutes. Is that okay?

"Yeah, that should be fine. I'll see you in a few."

A few minutes later, Cameron and Nikki hopped into the back seat, chatting as if it had been weeks since they'd seen each other. The drive passed quickly, the two of them talking the entire time with an occasional comment by Ms. Bale. Before long, they arrived and, after almost an hour of waiting, they were finally led into a small room where someone could look at Cameron.

"Good morning; I am Doctor Pitcairn. How is everyone?" a man asked as he entered the room. They all nodded a polite "fine" and watched as he quickly washed up. Nikki's hand never let go of Cameron's.

The doctor turned towards the group. "You must be Cameron Bale," he said, extending a hand. "I'm going to ask you to remove your shirt so we can get started."

Cameron shook his hand, and reluctantly released Nikki's, before slowly doing as the doctor had asked. It was slightly more uncomfortable now that it had been before. It was always awkward to do in front of Nikki, even at the beach. It was just that usually he didn't have to do it in front of her, his mom, and a total stranger all at the same time, but he didn't have a choice in the matter this time.

Without wasting any time, Dr. Pitcairn started looking at the bruises. After what seemed like forever, he sat down and looked up to address the three of them. "Well, let me start by asking how this happened."

Cameron and Nikki both looked down at the floor, so Ms. Bale answered. "Well, it's a long story, but suffice it to say that it was…it was his father."

Dr. Pitcairn looked up at that, but to everyone's immense relief he just nodded in understanding. "Well, it looks mostly fine. They look like they should all heal up in a few days. Some, like the one on his shoulder will probably take longer, but they will heal. The only one that concerns me slightly is the one on his chest. It's possible that a rib was slightly cracked, but the good news is that he's not really experiencing _too_ much pain, so I highly doubt that is the case. Even if it did crack slightly, it looks like it will heal up just fine in a couple of weeks, but again, I think that is unlikely. It looks like just a bad bruise. Still, I'm glad you came. Something could easily have been broken or worse, especially when there are so many, so you made the right choice. Just relax and be careful for the next few days and you should be fine."

All three of them sighed in relief, nodded, and thanked the doctor for his time. Cameron quickly threw his shirt back on and they headed out to the car. Nikki was the first to speak.

"That went well. I'm glad we did that; now I won't worry so much."

"Neither will I," Ms. Bale added.

Cameron smiled, slightly enjoying the fact that they had all be so worried about him. "Hey Mom, you have to work today, right?"

"Yes, late, in fact. Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you could drop us off at Nikki's house. We were going to hang out today while you were at work."

"Oh, sure, that makes things even easier."

"Thanks Mom!"

"Yes, thank you, Ms. Bale."

* * *

The next few days went by in no time at all. Every day, Cameron and Nikki would get together in the morning or early afternoon, spend the entire day together, and part only when it was almost too dark for Cameron to see his way home. Ava even had to give him a lift once when it did get too dark. Every day, they spent more and more time together, and every day they seemed to enjoy it more and more. Cameron found himself looking forward to it each day more than the day before, and he wondered what he would have done if they couldn't see each other one day. The thought scared him, and realizing that scared him more.

The relationship between Cameron and Nikki was not the only one improving; Cameron and his mom were finally starting to bond. They had gone years without being particularly close, but in only a few days they became more of what a mother and son should be. He started to talk to her and she started to listen. They started trusting each other, and started getting along far better than they ever had before because of that. Cameron was thrilled. He hadn't realized how much he had been missing out on for so long. He finally had a parent he could trust and could talk to. He also loved the fact that his mom was so understanding of Nikki, and she had never once lectured him about relationships or women. She let them see each other whenever they could, for the most part, and trusted them. Even his Dad had never been quite like that.

Saturday came, and that was a day Cameron had been looking forward to a great deal. His mom was working all day, and he had convinced Nikki to come over and hang out at his house all day. She had been reluctant at first, but he promised nothing would happen; it was just some nice alone time for them to hang out, talk, play a game, whatever without any interruptions. Finally, she had trusted him and agreed. They met at the pier and walked over together, fingers intertwined the whole time.

"So, here we are," Cameron said as he held the door open for Nikki.

"Thank you, Cam," Nikki said as she stepped inside. "Oh my gosh, Cam, this is so nice!" She looked around the small, but remarkably warm and welcoming home. It was perfectly decorated and clearly his mom greatly enjoyed HGTV and Food Network, as the kitchen was impeccable. If she had to guess, she would have gone with slight neat-freak as well, since the house was freshly vacuumed and dusted to perfection. "Wow, Cam, you got this all ready for me didn't you?"

He blushed a little. "Mom helped, of course, but I wanted it to be extra nice today. Although I have to admit, she tends to keep it almost this clean anyway."

Nikki chuckled, knowing he wasn't exaggerating about that. "So, where's your room? Is it still as clean as the one at your dad's?" she asked.

Cameron chuckled. "Mom sees to it that I keep it that way. Come on." He gently took Nikki's hand and led her down the hall to his room. He opened the door, knowing full well how clean it was. _He_ had made sure of that a long time ago. He watched Nikki's mouth drop when she saw.

"Oh my gosh, Cam, this is awesome. This is exactly what I pictured it would be like." There were a number of posters for various bands on the walls, a stack of unread "Nikki-books" on his nightstand, and a computer on the desk with iTunes brought up. She walked over to the keyboard and minimized iTunes only to see a picture of the two of them at the beach from last year. She had pushed Cameron, who had proceeded to lose his balance and come crashing down on top of her. The camera had gone off accidentally, but it clearly showed the two of them falling down in the sand with their eyes only focused on each other. "Oh my God, Cam, this is your background?!"

Cameron blushed. "Yeah, that one came out really nice. I mean the others were good, but I love this one, especially because it was a total accident on every level."

"Yet it works so perfectly," Nikki said, finishing both of their thoughts. They leaned in to kiss each other, and this one lasted longer than any of their more recent kisses. They kissed again, this one longer and more passionate still. They separated, and looked into each other's eyes. Every time, Cameron couldn't help but notice how beautiful Nikki's were. She had such a beautiful face. He brushed some of her hair out of the way and they kissed again, this time slowly working their way toward the bed. They laid down and continued kissing for a few moments longer. Cameron's hand brushed against Nikki's face, and he noticed how soft her skin felt. Lately, everything about her just seemed…perfect. Even more than usual. Finally, they let up, but Cameron left his arm gently resting around her waist.

"That was nice," Nikki whispered softly. Cameron didn't even know what to say. "We don't do that often enough," she added.

"I guess not," Cameron added, at a loss for words. Neither one of them moved for what felt like hours. After a while, Nikki was the first to break the silence.

"I have an idea," Nikki said, sitting up. "Do you want to go to the beach? It's been so long."

"I know!" Cameron agreed, sitting up as well. "I just didn't want everyone to see, you know."

Nikki nodded. "I know, and I completely understand. But are you feeling up for it now? It sounds like so much fun."

Cameron smiled when he saw the excited look on her face. He couldn't say no. "Absolutely. Come on, Nik, let's go."

After taking a few minutes to change (Nikki had come prepared), they headed out to the beach and enjoyed every second of it, almost as much as they had enjoyed the moment they'd just spent together at Cameron's house. Hours later, after dropping Nikki off and enjoying one last loving goodnight kiss, Cameron headed home for the night. He walked into his house late, hoping that he wouldn't wake his mom up after her long day of work. Much to his surprise, however, she was up and waiting for him. "Hey, Cam. Did you have a nice day?"

Cameron smiled, as he seemed to be doing all day. "Yeah. A great day, in fact. Nikki and I went to the beach for the first time in like a week. We just stayed there all day, talking and swimming and—"

"Kissing?"

Cameron blushed for what also felt like the billionth time today. "Yeah, there was some of that. But we also went to her house for a bit, to eat. Oh, and...well, see, we took this picture a while ago of us falling down in the sand at the beach."

"Your computer's background picture?"

Cameron laughed. "Yes! Stop saying everything right as I think it, will you?"

She started laughing as well. "Sorry, it's one of my many jobs as your mother."

"Anyway, I left a copy of it for her on her desk, discreetly without her noticing. I have a feeling she'll like it." Cameron couldn't stop smiling.

Ms. Bale nodded, also smiling. "I'm sure she will." She paused. "You're really fond of her, aren't you?" she said softly.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah. I am. To be honest," he said, debating as he spoke whether or not he actually wanted to tell her yet. "I think…I think I love her, Mom." He held his breath after finishing that sentence.

But his mother only smiled. "To be honest, I think you do, too. I know you're young, but the expressions on your faces when you see each other and when you talk about each other…it really looks like true love to me."

Cameron breathed again, slightly shocked. "Do you think she feels the same way?"

She chuckled lightly. "I am quite certain she does. Just promise me one thing, okay?"

Cameron nodded and repeated the words she had once said to him. "Of course, Mom, anything."

"Take it slow. Obviously, I'm your mother, so there are lots of reasons why I'm saying that, as I'm sure you know. But trust me: the wait makes it much more rewarding in the end."

Cameron nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

She smiled. "Good, now off to bed. It's late."

Cameron sighed over-dramatically. "Yes, Mom. Goodnight, and I love you."

"Goodnight Cam, and I love you, too."

* * *

The next morning, Cameron awoke to find that his mother had already left for work. Quickly getting dressed, he decided to head over to Nikki's, hoping for some breakfast. And sure enough, as he approached he was certain he could smell Johnny's famous omelets.

But the police car in the driveway completely shocked him.

As fast as he could, Cameron rushed to the front door and opened without bothering to knock, only to find a sight he never expected to see again.

Nikki was sitting down in the living room, looking like she was desperately fighting to hold back tears, and both Ava and Susannah already had tears in their eyes. He looked up at the officers walking towards him and then back to Ava. "What happened?" He didn't know what to think, and he certainly didn't know what to say.

Ava walked over slowly. "Cameron, these men are looking for you. They tried your house first, but you must have already left. Cameron…Cam, your…" She didn't sound like she was able to finish.

"What? What's going on?"

One of the officers took over. "I'm sorry, but it looks like your mother died in an accident this morning. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she was hit by another driver early this morning on her way to work. A truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit your mother's car. I'm so sorry…she died."

**Author's Note:** There we go, that's a little better than round one, I think...I hope. This chapter was tough. I needed to show the relationship between Cameron and Nikki getting stronger so Cameron could tell his mother how he really feels about her. I also needed to show Cameron's relationship with his mother getting stronger so it the end would be a bigger deal. That being said, I think I'm going to keep working on this chapter as I write the others because I'm still not perfectly happy with it yet. Also, I have a point to ending it the way I did, and it's not just because I wanted to kill someone. It is actually going to be important. So, let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading, and a special thanks to those who added me or my story to their favorites or alerts, and especially those who reviewed. Reviews are helpful, and let me know whether or not I'm on the right track, so please review, especially when you think something is wrong or could be better. Thanks again!


	5. Cameron's Initial Reaction

Cameron froze. He hadn't just heard that. He _couldn't_ have just heard that. Somehow it seemed impossible that his mother could be dead. It just couldn't be. There was no way the universe could possibly be that cruel.

Helpless, he stared at the officer. "What…?" It was all he could manage to get out of his mouth. He wasn't entirely conscious of what his body was doing. His mind was spinning, desperately trying to disprove what he had just heard.

Ava walked closer to Cameron and hugged him. Vaguely, he registered this in the back of his mind, but he was too lost to notice or hug back. He just kept staring at Nikki, who couldn't bring herself to look at him. He barely noticed Ava's voice as she tried to talk to him.

"I'm so sorry, Cameron. We all are. If there is anyone in the world that this should never have happened to, it's you, Cam." He looked at her as she spoke, still feeling like nothing was registering in his mind. It all seemed so distant.

Ava continued, doing her best to hold his gaze. "It's going to be okay, Cam, I promise. We've talked it over, and…well, we'd like you to stay here with us until we feel it's safe to stay with your dad again. I know under normal circumstances I would never, ever say that, but considering everything you've been through, I want you to stay. That is, if you wouldn't mind staying in Derrick's room with him?"

Cameron nodded, barely knowing what he was nodding to. Everything she'd said had seemed so blurry, so completely unimportant. None of it mattered. Nothing mattered, really. His mind was just a blur. He watched the officer again as he spoke to Ava. Something about a funeral and a will, and how the truck driver will spend the rest of his life. But for whatever reason, he didn't care about any of it. He watched as the cars pulled away, leaving him standing alone in the doorway with Nikki still on the couch and Ava leaning against the wall. No one said anything.

Finally, after what felt like anything from a few seconds to a few hours, Cameron gestured to the stairs. "I'm a…I'm going to go lie down, I think. I feel like…I just…I need to lie down…for a minute…" He started up the stairs, not looking at anyone.

Ava nodded, but decided against saying anything. She didn't feel like she _could _say anything. She knew there was nothing she could say that would make this any easier at all for him. All she could do was watch him walk upstairs and wish there was something more she could do for him. The boy had been through so much in so little time. _Not unlike Nikki, Braden, and Derrick, _she thought. Only for him, the very moment his life started looking better, it was taken away from him. It was so unfair, and she wasn't entirely sure he could handle it. He was a tough kid, but a person can only take so much.

At a loss as to what to do next, Ava turned to Nikki. "Are you okay, Nik?" She knew the answer, but somehow it made her feel better to ask.

A tear escaped the corner of Nikki's eye. "I couldn't even look into his eyes," she said softly. "I have never seen such agony in anyone's face before, not since Braden first heard about our parents…" she trailed off for a moment before pulling herself back together. "He looked so hurt and scared, like he _couldn't_ cry because that wouldn't even begin to express what he was feeling. What do I do, Aunt Ava? When we lost our parents, it was so different…he's had so many terrible things happen so quickly. His dad drinking, abusing him, then going to rehab and forcing him to make it work with his mother again. And then, finally, when he was happy again, and had rebuilt his relationship with his mom, she was taken away from him! Now he has no one, except his dad, and he's not ready to live with him again…" Nikki wiped away the tears that were falling down her cheek.

"He has us," Ava said as she looked at her niece, feeling a little shocked and almost proud. Nikki seemed to understand the situation so completely for someone so young. Most adults wouldn't grasp it that well. Then again, she realized, most adults haven't experienced what Nikki had.

"Yeah," Nikki said, leaning her head onto her aunt's shoulder. "He has us."

The two of them stayed like that for a while, silently lying on the couch. A thousand thoughts ran through Nikki's mind. While not at all uncommon for an overactive brain like hers, these thoughts were very unlike her usual thoughts. She wondered what Cameron was doing upstairs, and what he was thinking. Was he going to be okay? He lost everything: his parents, his house, his old life, all in one fell swoop. It had been so hard for her too, but at least she had had Ava. Cameron had no one, no family or even friends of the family to live with. His father was, no matter how anyone dressed it up, a drunk, and abusive. Cameron couldn't go back to him, not to live with.

Ava suddenly sat up and reached for the phone. "I'm sorry Nik, but I really should make some calls. I have to organize the funeral for tomorrow and deal with the will. I'm sure almost everything will go to Cameron, but I don't know what to do with the house and everything. Can you go check on Cam?"

Nikki nodded, realizing for the first time what a logistical pain in the ass it was when someone died, leaving everything to a 15-year-old. She quickly headed up the stairway as her hand started dialing the first number.

She quietly knocked on her door before opening it an inch. "Cam?" she whispered. Hearing nothing, she opened the door further, frowning as she saw him sitting on her bed with his arms around his knees and his head against the wall, looking at nothing in particular. "I'm so, so sorry Cam…" she added as she sat down next to him.

He frowned and looked away from her. "I don't even know how to feel…" he said softly. "After my dad…you know…after that, I felt sad, and scared…but this…this is so different. It's like I _can't _feel sad, because 'sad' doesn't even come close to describing how I feel…it's like it's so completely overwhelming that I don't feel anything…and what's worse is that I really don't want to…"

Nikki looked down, wishing she could say anything to help. "I can't even imagine it, Cam. How you must be feeling…you must be so scared…" She hadn't intended to say the last part out loud.

Cameron nodded slowly. "I…" His voice cracked, and Nikki realized he was shaking. "I'm so scared…" his voice cracking, like it couldn't handle the amount of emotion behind his words. "I've never said this to anyone before, but I'm really scared, Nik…I mean, yeah, I guess I said it before we confronted by dad, but this…I've never felt this way before, Nik…I'm so scared…"

Nikki saw him shaking, first just his face as tears started to fall, but then his whole body. His grip around his knees tightened, as if he was literally trying to hold himself steady. "Cam, you're shaking…" she gently put her hand on his shoulder.

His breathing got faster and started to come in short, frequent gasps. "It's just…there's no one…I have no family…where can I go…or live…what about…everything…mom's house…everything…" He couldn't talk anymore, and just started to cry. More than that, for the first time, Cameron started to sob, almost uncontrollably.

Nikki had never seen him so devastated. She'd seen him cry a few times in the past few weeks, but even the first time, when he'd first told her everything and she'd watched him break and finally cry everything out; that was different. This was such completely sadness, like crying was just a desperate attempt to try and show how he felt, but it wasn't enough.

Nikki did the only thing she could think of and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh Cam…" she whispered, softly brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Here, lie down," she said, quietly urging him to put his head on her pillow. She gently pushed his legs down comfortably and slid his Converse off, hearing them fall to the ground. Then she pulled the blanket up and over them, and held Cam as he continued to cry into the pillow.

* * *

After almost two hours on the phone, Ava finally hung up and put her pen and pad of paper on the counter. In only two hours, with a little help of Susannah, Ava had managed to plan a small funeral for tomorrow, order flowers, and talk to Cameron's mother's lawyer. After a good deal of convincing and even a phone call to Santa Palma Rehabilitation Center, Ava had managed to prove to the lawyer that she was Cameron's acting guardian for the moment. He'd told her that his mother had left him everything and, aside from a few specific items that were to be given to him, everything was to be sold and the money given to Cam. The bank would be able to take the house, leaving Cameron the difference between its estimated value and what was owed on the mortgage.

Looking at the clock, Ava saw that it was already after two in the afternoon. _Where is everyone?_ Realizing she'd left Nikki and Cam upstairs, she decided to check up on them

"Cam, Nik?" she said, knocking on the door. It was, in fact, open like she'd asked them so many times to do, but was only open a few inches, not enough for her to see much inside. She pushed it open further, seeing the two of them in bed, Cameron asleep and Nikki with her arm around him. Nikki was awake and looked up at Ava, her sad brown eyes communicating everything. Ava nodded and turned around, doing something she'd never in a million years thought she would ever do: shutting the door. Under ordinary circumstance, she'd never have allowed it. But considering everything that was going on, and Nikki being the only person Cameron could confide in right now, she thought it would best if they some time to themselves, without all the noise and distractions of the house. Maybe Nikki could help Cam somehow, and Ava knew they would never do anything stupid or (she finally allowed herself to think about it) physical with how they both must be feeling. So, for now, she left them alone.

**Note: **A huge thanks to everyone who added me to favorites or alerts, and an even bigger thanks to those of you who left a review! I love reviews and constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome. I know I'm not the best writer and I don't have the time to dedicate to writing that I'd like, so feel free to help me via reviews or private messages. :) I have a second part to this chapter I'll be uploading tomorrow, hopefully. Or VERY soon if not. Thanks for reading!


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